Chemical cremation up for vote in NH Senate

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The New Hampshire Senate will vote on a bill next week allowing the chemical cremation of bodies using a process that dissolves bodies into a soapy liquid using lye, 300-degree heat and 60 pounds of pressure per square inch to dissolve bodies in big stainless-steel cylinders.

Supporters hail it as an environmentally friendly advance in mortuary science gaining traction in the U.S., and legal in more than 10 states including neighboring Maine. The liquid byproduct can be treated at existing waste water treatment facilities and avoids the air quality problems of fire cremation.

A Senate committee, which held a hearing on the bill recently, voted 3 to 2 recommending the Senate reject the proposal. Farmington Republican Sen. Sam Cataldo voiced concerns at that hearing about whether the byproduct could find its way into drinking water.